Stories about Bats and Badgers
I heard from someone else that there were bats at Satara. With the directions I found them quite easily. These are Epauletted Fruit bats. There are 2 species that can be found in the area, but apparently you have to count the number of palatial ridges present behind the last molar to confirm which species they are! These bats do not drink blood, but when I saw him looking at me like that, I wondered if he was not perhaps thinking “I want to suck your blood!”
On my first night at Satara I had a braai. After my meal I threw the bones from my meat onto the bin on the patio with the intention of taking the bin into the chalet later. Suddenly I heard a noise, and when I looked, I saw a shape running towards my car. I shone my flashlight, and saw a large badger staring back at me. It was obvious that he was after the scraps of food in the bin, and I quickly moved the bin into the chalet. While I could not get a photo of the badger, this was an amazing encounter. At one stage I was only a couple of meters from this incredible animal.
—————————————————————————-
A Story about a Weird Mongoose
I was driving north of Satara when something strange caught my eye in the area close to Ngotso North Waterhole. A Slender Mongoose was behaving in the oddest manner. He was running from a rock to a bush, climbing to the top of the bush, jumping down, running to the rock, and then repeat the whole process. This went on for at least 10 minutes. There were 2 or 3 Swainson’s Spurfowl as well, and I was wondering if this was not a distraction technique from the mongoose to try and catch them. If it was, it was very strange – the spurfowl did not run away, and the Mongoose did not seem to serious about the matter. Whatever the reason for the strange behaviour, it was very entertaining to watch.
—————————————————————————-
Stories about Scaly Ones
Camps can provide many great sightings. I found a few Southern Tree Agamas. 
This one was hunting on the lawn near my chalet in Satara.
A couple of lizards kept me company while I was relaxing on my patio.
Skukuza camp delivered a few different lizards. I think these are both types of Rainbow Skinks.
I saw two different tortoise species –
Leopard tortoise.
Speke’s Hinge-back tortoise.
Although these look different, these are both Speke’s Hinge-back tortoises. Some info I received indicates that the second one might be a bit older and therefore the markings are more faded than the first.
I saw a few monitor lizards. This one was at one of the causeways on the S41 in the way to the Sweni hide.
I am always impressed by these guys. They can get very big, and always look as if they have these bad-boy attitudes. They also walk with an arrogant swagger unlike any other animal.
And what would Kruger be without the river monsters lurking with their toothy smiles.
—————————————————————————-
Stories of some of Kruger’s other animals
I saw all the usual animals while in the Park. I stopped at the N’wamanzi lookout point near Olifants. In the river below two hippos were having a slight disagreement.
The area around Satara is known for its large herds of plains game, and as can be expected there were many zebra herds.
Surprisingly I saw very few Vervet Monkeys and Chacma Baboons. I saw a troop of Chacma Baboons at the Sweni waterhole.
When there is a lion kill, you will always find a few scavengers. There were a couple of Black-backed Jackals hanging around the four male lions with the buffalo kill, hoping to find a gap to steal a mouth full of food.
It was very difficult to take photos of a Dwarf Mongoose. I saw a few troops, but they are busy little things.
There were also lots of Waterbuck in the Satara area. They have such pretty heart-shaped noses.